Robert Benjamin walked around the Erie Gun Show with two AR-15 assault rifles slung over his shoulders.

The Dunkirk, N.Y., man, looking to sell both guns on Saturday, had already sold another assault rifle at the show in the morning.

"I got $900 for it," Benjamin said about the Olympic Arms AR-15 he sold inside the Bayfront Convention Center. "Before things got crazy, it was a $600 gun."

Benjamin was referring to the heated gun control debate in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting massacre inside an elementary school in Connecticut, and the potential for stricter gun laws and a federal ban on assault weapons.

"You can pass a thousand laws. Criminals don't care about laws," the 43-year-old gun owner said. "What those laws would do is restrict law-abiding citizens from their ability to protect themselves from criminals."

The event features dozens of tables covered with a variety of guns, ammunition and assorted gun-related accessories for sale.

The show runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the convention center. Admission is $8.

Promoter Robert Elliott, of C&E Gun Shows in Blacksburg, Va., said five gun dealers registered for the Erie show withdrew because their inventory has been quickly depleted in the past two weeks.

"People are scared, and worried about their rights, so they're buying everything up," Elliott said Saturday. "With anti-gun legislation on the table, there's a lot of uncertainty."

Many patrons at Saturday's show approached by the Erie Times-News declined to be interviewed.

Several others wanted to talk about gun control legislation, but did not want their names published. They passionately shared their viewpoints and opinions on how politics, mental-health issues, and society in general factor into whether America's gun laws should be changed.

Others at the show openly talked about gun control legislation.

Josh Rex, of Pittsburgh, owns two handguns and two shotguns. He strongly believes tougher gun laws need to be in place in the United States.

"It should be really, really, really hard to buy a gun, but it's not," the 30-year-old information technology consultant said. "I don't think anyone is willing to take the steps to pass (legislation) that takes guns off the streets, not just goes after new gun sales."

Rick Speelberg, a dealer with Old Sarge's Drop Zone in Dunkirk, had about 70 guns for sale, plus accessories, at the show.

"Business has been pretty good," he said while assisting customers.

Speelberg said gun control legislation "restricts honest citizens from protecting their families."